Where to Look
by LostHope19
Summary: Naruto and Kiba head off for a mission in the woods. They soon find out how this short mission has the potential to change their lives. KibaNaru.
1. Intro

Heyyyy! Over the past year or so, I have been trying to decide if I should write a fanfic, or just continue to read them. This short blurb is a possible start to my first ever fan fiction, not to mention the first thing I've ever written that I wasn't forced to write. I still can't decide if I actually want to write this or not. I'm going to decide this based on my reviews (if I get any). Please leave a review giving me any constructional criticism, compliments, or thoughts that you may have on my writing or this fic. More importantly, I need to know if people would like me to continue this, or write something else. Please R&R! Thanks!

Full Summary: Naruto and Kiba head off for a mission in the woods. Little did they know, this short mission had the potential to change their lives. Yaoi. Rated M for later chapters. If you don't like boyXboy, you probably shouldn't have clicked this fic in the first place.

All rights are given to Masashi Kishimoto.

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Chapter One

Naruto clutched his ears as he rolled over in his bed, trying desperately to shut out the repetitive beeping. He stumbled onto the floor and groggily crawled his way over to his dresser. Reaching the source of his morning ire, its luminous numbers blinking innocently, he silenced his tormentor, plopped down on the floor, leaned back against his dresser, and heaved a heavy sigh.

_My head is killing me… What the hell did I do last night?…_

He tried to remember why he was so hung over, and realized that yesterday had been his eighteenth birthday; Sakura had thrown him a surprise party. It seemed that ever since he got back from his training with Jiraiya, all she ever wanted to do was please him. The little wretch resembled a leech in more ways than he could count. All she ever did was mooch off of others, cling to peoples' arms, cry for help, and hit on guys. He, along with everyone else, secretly despised her.

All Naruto wanted was for his headache to go away, but instead it seemed to be getting worse. Suddenly there were three loud raps on the door, followed by a loud voice calling, "Oooooooyyyyyy! Naruto!"

_I'm going to kill whoever that is._

He grabbed onto a nearby chair for support, and clumsily stood himself up, wobbling precariously to the door.

"Hey Naruto. Whoa… You look terrible…" Kiba said.

Naruto glared daggers at him and, in a voice that may have scared small children, said, "What do you want?"

He and Kiba had never really gotten along very well. It wasn't as if Naruto hated Kiba, they just never seemed to hang out much outside of work-related situations.

"We've been summoned by Tsunade."

Kiba ignored Naruto's poor attitude, since he had attended the party too, and knew exactly what Naruto was going through. He had been the one who had coerced Naruto into playing various drinking games. What good is a party if the guest of honor doesn't get completely smashed? He smirked at this thought, then turned around and started to walk away.

"Hey, wait up!" said Naruto, as he scrambled to put his usual black and orange outfit on. He ran out the door and soon caught Kiba.

"You're _such_ a gentleman." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Kiba grunted and kept walking, ignoring the hyperactive, neon-clad figure.

The two remained silent until Naruto's stomach growled, at which point he exclaimed, "I forgot to eat breakfast! Now my entire eating schedule is gonna be messed up. I'm gonna have to eat some pork ramen when I should be eating chicken for lunch, then my chicken for dinner. Maybe I'll just have a second dinner! No, if I do that…"

Naruto continued to plan his eating schedule out loud for the remainder of the walk. Kiba just kept on wordlessly, slightly annoyed with the babbling fool who was keeping him company.

Once the pair arrived at the Hokage's building, Naruto quieted his ramblings and Kiba relaxed his face to a more pleasing expression. Naruto popped a few more pills for his throbbing head, and took a deep, theatric breath.

The two ninja entered the room slowly, masking their chakras. Tsunade was ready and waiting, her eyes on the door, her manicured fingernails tapping with impatience. The moment the door betrayed them with a resounding creak, Tsunade's impatience escalated; "You're late!"

Naruto winced at the volume of her voice, and Kiba sighed, a small smirk playing on his lips.

"Naruto over here took forever answering the door. I think we both know why." Tsunade looked confused for a moment. Her confusion slowly turned into a look of amusement and humor as memories of the previous night flowed into her head.

"He wasn't doing a special dance on the table again, was he?"

Tsunade and Kiba both broke out into fits of laughter.

Naruto's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Yeah yeah, real funny… Now, why'd you call me here so early? I was just sitting down to a nice morning nap."

"IT'S ONE IN THE AFTERNOON, and you have a mission. The two of you are going to be traveling to the Hidden Village of the Mist to deliver this letter to the Mizukage."

She handed Kiba an envelope, which he quickly stashed in his sweatshirt. "It's a B-rank mission due to the hostile relationship we share with the Mist village at this point in time, but the odds of you two encountering any real danger are low, seeing as it's a mere delivery mission. You are to set out as soon as possible. Any questions?"

"I have one. Why does an elite ninja like me have to be paired up with dog breath? Can't I be with somebody who smells less?" Naruto asked in a slightly arrogant, but mostly childish voice.

"NO COMPLAINING! You two have been selected because you have the greatest stamina, and Kiba will be able to smell any trouble on the off chance that you are attacked. You've been going on missions like this for years now Naruto, you should know the strength of your own teammates. Any _legitimate_ questions?"

"Nope. I guess I'll go pack up then." Kiba said plainly. He turned and left the office.

Naruto failed to notice that Kiba had gone, preoccupied with what he thought were legitimate complaints; he was moping about being paired with somebody who lived with so many smelly dogs. Tsunade soon brought him back to reality by saying, "I said you are to leave as soon as possible, Naruto! Go get ready!"

Back in his apartment, Naruto grumbled about a certain "stupid old hag", and grabbed what he'd need for the short mission: a change of clothes, tons of kunai, shuriken, and other weapons, a tent, and about forty cups of instant campfire ramen. Within minutes he was ready at the entrance to Konoha

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Don't forget… R&R!


	2. Predicaments

As I have written in the previous chapter, this is my first fic and I am new to how this site works. It took me an hour just to figure out how to add in my author's comments after I accidentally posted the wrong version of the first chapter! Please bear with me as I attempt to figure this website out… I am NOT computer savvy.

Soooo, here I am with another chapter! Thanks so much to my first two reviewers: ChocohalicsAnonymus and Quimbelork! You don't have any idea how much I appreciate your compliments! Don't forget… I am still trying to decide if writing is something I should even bother doing. If you like my writing or just want to see the rest of this fic, PLEASE don't hesitate to say so via reviews or PM's!

I would like to announce that I am looking for a Beta (who is very good with grammar and will not be afraid to suggest changes he/she thinks I should make) to catch the little things. I am also trying desperately to find a way to learn more about Japanese culture/language! If you know of any good sites for this, or if you are well versed in this type of thing, I implore you to help me out!

Full Summary: Naruto and Kiba head off for a mission in the woods. Little did they know, this short mission had the potential to change their lives. Yaoi. Rated M for later chapters. If you don't like boyXboy, you shouldn't have clicked this fic in the first place.

All rights are given to Masashi Kishimoto.

Without any further distractions…

* * *

Chapter 2 - Predicaments

Naruto greeted Kiba with a simple, "Hey."

He was still pretty unhappy about having to take this mission the day after his birthday, and he was managing to upset himself even further by thinking that he was going to smell dog for the next few days.

As if he could read Naruto's mind, Kiba said, "Relax. Akamaru just had a bath yesterday, and I'm sure I bathe more often than you anyway."

Naruto managed to avoid letting Kiba anger him. Although it may never seem like it, he had matured a little bit over the past few years.

Kiba was shocked that Naruto didn't lose control after one little jibe. _Well where's the fun in this? How am I going to entertain myself for two whole days if Naruto won't even get aggravated with me?_

Naruto noted Kiba's obvious surprise with disdain, discreetly rolling his eyes. _Kiba still thinks of me as a twelve year old... Damn that guy pisses me off._

Leaving the Konoha gates gave Naruto a nostalgic feeling as he remembered his first mission beyond the high walls. They had been traveling to the land of waves as team seven, and Naruto had been bouncing off the walls with excitement; presently, Naruto would have given almost anything to remain in the walls. Kiba didn't seem too enthused either, and a grave silence hung over them, broken only by Akamaru's heavy pants.

_Maybe I should just give it to him now. It could ease this tension between us for a little while._ Kiba started to move his hand to his coat pocket, and began to play with the small box in his hands.

He was about to take it out when Naruto turned around and yelled, "Pick up the pace, dog breath! I don't want to be on this trip for any longer than I have to!"

With this, Kiba withdrew his hand from his pocket and scowled.

"That makes two of us baka…" he muttered.

Due to Naruto's lack of patience and his determination to successfully complete the mission and leave his temporary teammate behind, the two managed to set up camp an hour early and still make more progress than originally intended. Faced with a long trek, Naruto amused himself by being as irritating as possible.

Once at their campsite, chosen by an exhausted Akamaru who refused to move anymore, Naruto turned to Kiba and said, "You make a fire and set camp up. I'll go and catch us some fish for dinner."

Kiba growled at him and said, "Quit ordering me around. I don't want to be on this mission any more than you do. I'll set camp up, but don't think it's because you told me to. I can't stand fishing."

"Riiiiight." Naruto snickered and rolled his eyes. "Because all dogs hate hunting. Especially the ones who are trained to kill."

Before Kiba could retaliate, Naruto disappeared into the forest.

Kiba silently fumed over his irritating partner. He really did hate fishing. It was so boring, even without the trouble of using a fishing rod; he was able to fish with his bare hands because of his highly trained senses, just like most other special jounin.

As he set up camp, he listed all of the things that annoyed him most; Naruto dominated his top ten. He didn't really dislike Naruto – only a few little things he found impossible to like: his stubborn nature, immaturity, the façade he would always put on whenever he was in public, and his arrogance. The more Kiba thought about those little parts of Naruto, the more he wondered why he didn't loathe the man.

At that moment Naruto came crashing into the campsite. _Speak of the devil_. He was smiling like a mad man and was carrying five huge catfish. He was so thrilled with his success that he wasted no time returning to show his winnings. Kiba waited for the inevitable. In a typical Naruto fashion, he tripped over a rock and fell face first into the grass.

He laid there for a good ten seconds before finally sitting up and rubbing a large bump that had appeared on his head. Grinning, he scooped up the fish, and resumed his mad dash for the campfire. Kiba struggled to keep his balance as he tried to control a huge fit of laughter. _Oh yeah, this is why I don't hate Naruto; he's way too entertaining!_

Once Naruto and Kiba had managed to settle in front of the campfire, the issue of splitting the fish arose. Naruto was determined not to have to split a fish with Kiba, so he said, "Since I caught all five of these fish, I'll take three, and you get two!"

"No way! I sat here and set up the entire camp. I even set up your tent! I say we share the fifth fish." Kiba retorted.

"Screw that! That fish is mi-" Naruto stopped mid-sentence. A thought had occurred to him. "Fine. You can have three fish."

Kiba's mouth nearly hit the floor. _Naruto is NEVER willing to give up something he thinks he deserves. This must be some sort of strange trap. _Although he intended to ask Naruto why he decided to actually be generous, Kiba only managed a strained, "Huh?"

"You can have three of the fish." Naruto repeated. He raised one eyebrow as if to ask, '_Is there something _wrong_ with you having three fish?_'

Kiba's eyes narrowed accusingly.

"Are you coming onto me?" He asked.

"Whaaaaat? No no no no no… Nooooooo. It's just that I remembered that I brought along a ton of ramen, and I'd rather share fish with you instead of my holy noodles."

"Holy noodles?"

Kiba's suspicious stare melted into a mixture of disbelief and amusement.

"Duh! You think that ramen noodles are just some other type of food like meat or fruit? They're _obviously_ the food of the gods." Naruto said this with such authority that if what he had said wasn't so painstakingly idiotic, Kiba would have believed him without a second thought.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine. I'll take the fifth fish. Thanks."

He was still suspicious of Naruto. He was beginning to wonder if Naruto really had finally started to mature.

Since he really didn't even want a third fish, Kiba threw it to Akamaru while Naruto was engrossed in his fifth cup of ramen. "Well, I'm beat. I think I'm gonna call it a night. See you bright 'n' frickin' early."

Naruto, who was still busy devouring his "holy noodles", managed to stop stuffing his face long enough to grunt in reply.

_Tch, that Naruto really is insane. Baka._

After Kiba had disappeared into his tent, Naruto finished up his sixth cup of ramen. Patting his filled belly with sleepy satisfaction, he set up a trap or two around the site just in case something happened at night, then went to bed.

* * *

_Naruto sits solemnly on the Academy park swing, wishing he had somebody to hang out with. Out of nowhere, Kiba approaches him and asks, "Wanna go train?"_

"_Sure." Naruto replies. _

_The two head off for the training grounds. Naruto doesn't show it, but he is ecstatic about having a chance to hang out with somebody. Kiba suddenly stops and turns around. _

_Naruto asks, "What's the matter?" _

_Kiba just stares. Naruto begins to get nervous. Usually when people confront Naruto like this, it means he is about to be hurt. Kiba leans forwards, and Naruto backs away. _

"_Wh- what are you doing?" Naruto manages to say. _

_Kiba says nothing, but firmly grips Naruto's shoulder. This triggers Naruto's fight or flight response. He begins to try to escape. When he realizes that he is unable to get away, he panics. Kiba keeps leaning in closer, but Naruto keeps trying to back away. _

_When the two boys' faces are only a few inches away, Kiba lunges forwards and firmly pushes his lips onto Naruto's. Naruto's eyes fling open in surprise. He feels Kiba's tongue graze his lower lip, and he gets even more scared. He can't think about anything but keeping his lips sealed and trying to escape._

_Kiba takes even greater measures to get Naruto to open his mouth. He releases Naruto's shoulders and pulls him into a tight embrace. He presses his entire body into Naruto's, and finally gets the effect he desires. _

_Naruto gasps at this new sensation. He had never been touched in this way before. Before he even realizes that his mouth is slightly ajar, he feels Kiba's warm tongue slide past his own lips and into his mouth. He tastes Kiba's saliva as Kiba rubs his tongue against all of the most sensitive areas in his mouth. Naruto feels pleasure in ways that he would have never thought possibly through kissing. All he wants is more of this kiss._

_Kiba's tongue slowly moves across the roof of Naruto's mouth…_

* * *

A loud boom awoke Naruto from his sleep.

"DAMNIT!" Kiba yelled from across the campsite.

_Ugh… What was that? _Naruto thought, his mind still dysfunctional in his semi-conscious state.

He then remembered his dream. _AND WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?_

Naruto sat up, now fully awake. He sat for a moment and tried to fathom why the hell he just dreamt about receiving the most passionate kiss of his life from Kiba.

Naruto was taken back to reality by a loud crash, followed by a string of curses. He grabbed a kunai from his pouch and jumped from the tent prepared for battle. The sight before him made him forget all about his dream for the time being, and laugh so hard that it was almost a cackle.

He saw that Kiba had succeeded in setting off not one, but both of Naruto's traps. Exploding tags had blown up the entire outer edge of the campsite, and Kiba was dangling from a tree caught in a wire net. While Naruto was laughing, Kiba was yelling for Naruto to "get me out of this damned tree before I make Akamaru test out his newest 'acid'"

Naruto managed to pull himself together and threw his kunai at the rope that was suspending the net in the air. He then resumed his laughing as gravity ran its course.

Kiba yelled, "DAMNIT NARUTO, THE TENT!"

Naruto stopped laughing and looked around the campsite. He soon noticed that Kiba's tent was on fire, thanks to one of the exploding tags.

"KUSO!" Naruto screamed.

He made a few hand seals and a high powered gust of wind shot from his hands, blowing the fire out like a candle on a birthday cake. However, he was too late. The tent had burnt up so badly that all that remained was a piece of fabric the size of a shirt.

Kiba continued his string of curses from earlier. Naruto was about to laugh again, when Kiba said, "Naruto… you do know what this means, don't you?"

Naruto cocked his head to the side and began to think about their situation. His face slowly paled as he put all of the pieces together.

First off, he remembered that dream he had about Kiba. Second, he realized that this meant that all of Kiba's belongings and food had burnt up, which means he will be sharing ramen. (Luckily, the letter that they were delivering was with Naruto.) He finally realized that Kiba now had no place to sleep and it was more or less his fault. This meant that he would be sharing a tent made for one with Kiba that night.

Things were already inevitably going to be awkward for Naruto since he had an erotic dream about Kiba, and now he had to share a tent with him. Naruto was starting to feel sick to his stomach. _Thank god Kiba slept with his clothes on last night. Otherwise, I would have to lend him my extra set of clothes. They would've reeked of dog!_

"Hey, what are you looking so down for? You're not the one who just lost a ton of food and a change of clothes! You know this means I'm not gonna have anywhere to sleep, don't you? I should be the one upset, not you!" Kiba didn't sound angry at Naruto, which was good. He just sounded upset that he was in this predicament.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I guess this means you'll be bunking with me tonight, huh." Naruto was hoping that Kiba would say that was crazy and that he would sleep outside with Akamaru.

"Damn straight!" Naruto felt a cloud of gloom settle upon his shoulders.

Naruto grudgingly gave up a cup of "holy noodles" for Kiba's breakfast. After eating, they packed up their camp and set out for the Mist Village.

* * *

Woo! I did it! Feel free to review. I even accept negative flames if they're constructional ;)


	3. Successful Missions

Hello again! I'm back with the third chapter of my first story ever. :) Thank you all SO much for your reviews! Unless you to are a writer, you have no idea how much they're appreciated! I've been so happy to see that people are enjoying my story!

I guess I really should apologize. I'm probably going to let a few of you down with this chapter, but there isn't and smutty goodness yet. I want to make their relationship as authentic as possible. If I were just going to put the two in a tent and let them "enjoy themselves", I would have written a one-shot. I want this story to be a pretty long one, so we can't have any of _that_ yet, now can we?

All rights are given to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Chapter 3 - Successful Missions

As the three traveled onwards towards the Mist Village, Kiba tried his hardest to keep himself from seriously hurting Naruto. He was still furious that Naruto set up all of those traps, but said nothing to him. He lost one of his favorite jackets in that fire! Naruto, who was slightly afraid of Kiba at this point, decided it would be best to avoid talking to him.

Then again, he didn't really want to talk to him. He was afraid that he might let something slip about his dream. Although he was putting a lot of effort into it, he could not seem to keep his mind off of his dream. He wondered why he would have such a bizarre dream, and why he woke up feeling lighter than the air around him.

_Maybe he put something in my ramen… Teme._ With that thought, he scowled at Kiba.

At that exact moment, Kiba turned around to make sure that he hadn't lost Naruto. It wasn't like him to be this quiet. After seeing Naruto scowling at him, Kiba lost it. He stopped in his tracks, causing Naruto to smash right into him. The two fell out of the trees and onto the ground.

As soon as they hit, Kiba was straddling Naruto, using one hand to keep his right arm down, and the other to apply a not-so-small amount of pressure on Naruto's neck. "WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?"

Naruto, who was honestly and utterly confused, just let out a little inquisitive squeak.

"Ihhh?"

Kiba tried to keep himself from screaming, since they were almost within ear shot of their destination. "Why the hell were you just scowling at me? First you set up traps without telling me, then you just laugh at me when I'm trapped in your damn net and my tent is burning to a crisp, and now in your little head you somehow managed to twist this situation to make it look like I did something wrong?"

Naruto, who now realized what the misunderstanding was, said, "No! I wasn't scowling at you because of that! It was because of my dr-"

His free hand instantly flew to his mouth. His eyes got wide and instead of finishing that sentence, he just sort of let the rest of the air in his lungs out in a breathy sort of whine. Then, he realized that Kiba was straddling him and that the two were alone in the forest. His face turned a cherry red so that his cheeks matched Kiba's.

This all made Kiba very curious. The fury left his face and was replaced with an evil smile and eyes that said, "I'm going to make you tell me."

With one glance at Kiba's face, Naruto quickly used everything he had to push Kiba off of him. Kiba went flying, and Naruto immediately fled. Naruto decided that if he made his way to civilization, he would be able to delay this confrontation with Kiba. Within minutes, he was at the gates of the Hidden Village of the Mist. He came to a stop and paused for a few seconds to catch his breath.

After the feeling of being a hunted animal had passed, he took his hands off his knees, lifted his head, and looked around. Kiba was nowhere to be seen. He let out a sigh of relief and decided that he should wait for Kiba there, even though he had the documents.

After several minutes, Kiba still hadn't arrived. _He's probably waiting for me to deliver the letter myself… Bastard. Oh well, maybe if I do this he won't feel the need to kill me anymore._

Naruto walked up to the gate and was stopped by four guards wearing hitai-ate with the Mist Village's crest on them.

"State your destination and purpose, _Leaf ninja_." The guard nearly hissed the last part.

Naruto kept a completely composed stature and replied, "I have a letter which is to be personally delivered to the Mizukage herself."

The guards looked around at each other and the tallest one said, "Alright, but you have to have two escorts with you. Nothing personal."

Without saying another word, Naruto walked past the four guards. Two of them turned and pursued.

As Naruto walked through the village, he ignored the looks of hatred the villagers gave him. He was used to being treated this way in public. _Tch, maybe that's why Granny Tsunade gave me this mission. Anyone else would be intimidated by all of these people's anger._

As they approached what Naruto knew to be the Mizukage's private dwelling, Naruto began wondering if Kiba had reached the gate yet, or if he just stayed behind and was waiting somewhere. _If Kiba is sleeping when I get back, I'm going to pay him back in full for that little stunt he pulled in the woods._

Naruto grimaced at this thought, then noticed that the guards were giving him warning looks due to his seemingly hostile look.

_I've really got to stop thinking about things that make me angry… _

However, Naruto continued to wonder about what Kiba was doing. He began to get slightly worried. _What if he was hurt when I pushed him off of me? I didn't stick around long enough to see him land… He could have been captured by Mist shinobi and mistaken as a spy…_

These thoughts were interrupted by one of the guards saying, "We're here."

Naruto looked up and, sure enough, they were at the door of the Mizukage's office. He knocked on the door a few times and was soon greeted by a female shinobi, who Naruto determined to be the Mizukage's assistant.

"Are you the one with the letter for the Mizukage?" she asked Naruto.

"Yeah, this is it here." Naruto replied and held the letter up.

"I'll take that and deliver it for you." She reached for the letter, but Naruto drew his hand back.

"As I'm sure you must know, delivery missions are not complete unless the object is delivered directly to the recipient." Naruto squinted his eyes dangerously.

"The Mizukage is not taking visitors right now. I'll take that from you." The woman's voice was very firm and stern. Naruto, being the stubborn person that he is, made a hand signal and teleported past the woman and into the room.

The sight that laid before him almost made him lose his composure and burst into a fit of laughter.

In that room, Naruto found one of the most powerful and respected people in the world passed out onto her desk, with a bottle of sake in one hand and a teddy bear in the other. "HEY!" The woman yelled. Naruto ignored her and walked up to the Mizukage. He put the letter on the sleeping woman's head and teleported back out of the room.

Without saying a word, Naruto began walking away from the building. Once he was beyond the building's barriers that stopped shinobi from teleporting in, he teleported to the gates of the village. He walked past the two guards who were keeping their eyes glued to him suspiciously.

The moment he was out of the gates, he sprinted away from the village, and headed to the place where Kiba and he had their little skirmish. When he finally reached the small clearing, he fell to the ground while laughing even harder than he had when Kiba had gotten caught in his traps. Images of the Mizukage flashed through his mind.

As he rolled around on the ground, he felt something move beneath him. He heard a click, then another click. Before he knew what was happening, he was dangling in the air, trapped inside of a net suspended by a rope, which was attached to a tree branch above him.

At first, he became terrified. He was trapped in enemy territory. However, he soon realized that this trap looked incredibly familiar. _This is the same trap that Kiba got caught in this morning. How could an enemy have copied all of the parts of a trap that I designed so perfectly? There's no way an _enemy _could have… copied… _Then it hit him. _I'm going to kill him. _

"KIBA! LET ME OUT OF HERE!"

Kiba appeared from behind a tree with an evil smile on his face. "I'll let you out, just as soon as you tell me why you were making that face at me earlier."

Naruto's face looked like a light show as it first turned from its usual golden color to a very pale white, and then to a deep crimson. He had nearly forgotten about his dream.

"I think that it's in both of our best interests that I don't tell you." was all Naruto said.

"Well I think that it's in the mission's best interest that I know what's troubling my partner." Kiba retorted, grinning even more wildly.

"The mission's already completed. How could anything be in the mission's best interest at this point?"

Kiba let out a small laugh and said, "Missions tend to suffer if one of the shinobi doesn't come back unharmed."

Naruto squinted his eyes and just glared at Kiba, as if to say, "_Do your worst._"

Kiba's smile disappeared and he said, "Fine. If physical pain doesn't scare you, maybe _this_ will."

He reached for Naruto's bag – which had fallen off of his back when he was caught in the trap – and pulled out a few cups of ramen.

"NO! YOU BETTER NOT EAT ANY OF MY RAMEN!" Naruto's face contorted into a mixed look of fear and anger.

"Oh, don't worry. _I_ won't be eating any of your ramen." Naruto just stared at him, wondering what the hell Kiba was thinking.

"AKAMARU! Get over here!" Kiba yelled.

As soon as Akamaru was standing in front of Kiba, he opened up a pack of the uncooked ramen and gave it to Akamaru. Akamaru barked happily and ate the ramen without a second thought.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Naruto bellowed.

Kiba could have sworn that he actually saw a tear come to Naruto's eye. He reached for another cup of ramen, and Akamaru's tail wagged.

Naruto said, "Okay! I'll tell you."

Naruto hung his head in defeat.

Kiba just smiled an innocent smile and exclaimed, "Yaaaay!" He soon covered up his childish outburst and said, "I knew you'd see things my way."

Naruto chuckled and said, "First, GET ME THE HELL OUT OF THIS NET!"

Kiba complied and got Naruto down the exact same way Naruto had gotten Kiba down that morning. Naruto fell to the ground with a thud, and soon began to nurse the newest addition to the collection of bumps he had on his head.

Kiba smiled wryly and prodded, "Well?"

Naruto just glowered at him. "Don't make me feed Akamaru any more of your ramen Naruto."

"I was scowling because I was thinking about Sakura." Naruto lied.

"We both know that isn't true Naruto. If the next thing that comes out of your mouth isn't the truth, Akamaru's going to have a feast tonight." Kiba said.

Naruto could tell that Kiba was being truthful.

Naruto let out a groan and almost inaudibly mumbled, "Fine. I had a… bad dream."

Kiba was trying to decide if he believed Naruto or not. Could a bad dream really make Naruto look that angry?

"How could a dream make you scowl at me?"

"I, uh, kind of thought that you were the one who caused the bad dream… Like, you poisoned me or something!" Naruto realized that he may not even have to tell Kiba about the dream, and finished his sentence with a smile.

Kiba knew something wasn't right here. He was still curious.

"How bad was your dream?" This question made Naruto's face pale again, letting Kiba know that he had found the real source of Naruto's anger.

He smiled evilly. "Tell me all the details about this dream."

"I already told you, it would NOT be in our best interest to discuss this." Naruto was struggling to find a way out of this situation.

Rather than continue this futile argument, Kiba opened another cup of ramen, and, before Naruto could stop him, he tossed it to Akamaru. The ramen was gone before Naruto could even move.

Naruto felt like attacking Kiba or grieving over his lost ramen, but Kiba wasn't about to let either of those things happen. He had already taken out a third cup of ramen.

Naruto couldn't take this anymore.

He blurted out, "I had a dream that you kissed me!"

With that, he lunged at Kiba and took his ramen back. Kiba just stood there with a blank look on his face while Naruto gathered up the contents of his bag and claimed all of his precious holy noodles for himself.

Once his things were all together, he looked up at Kiba. Kiba's face was unchanged. He was staring off into space. _Uh oh… This can't be good. Kiba hasn't moved since I… OH CRAP! I just told him that I dreamt about him making out with me! What the hell! Whyyyyy does ramen have to be soooooooooo delicious and tempting?_

"Well, we'd better get moving." Kiba finally said.

"Yeah." Naruto replied.

With that, the two set out for Konoha.

* * *

The pair plus Akamaru traveled silently and quickly. Naruto wished that he could read minds, because right now he _needed_ to know what Kiba was thinking. He was afraid that once they got back to Konoha, Kiba would tell everybody that Naruto was gay.

_I am NOT gay! It was just a dream! A stupid, unbelievable dream. I am in no way attracted to Kiba, nor anybody else who lives and smells like an animal! Right? _

Naruto wanted to be sure of that, but he just couldn't convince himself.

_Well, I'm not attracted to Kiba at least._

* * *

After a long day of traveling, the two decided that it was time to set up camp. "This spot looks good, ne?" Kiba said to Akamaru, who simply barked in reply.

'_This looks like a great spot! Thanks for asking.'_ Naruto thought.

Kiba didn't have to act like _this_. It's not like Naruto tried anything with Kiba, yet Kiba still hadn't said anything to Naruto since they left that afternoon.

"I'm going to go get some food, Akamaru. Stay here and make sure the site is set up well." Kiba said. Akamaru barked a few times and Kiba left.

_I guess that means I'm stuck with setting camp up._

Naruto proceeded to set up the single, lonely tent. He then cleared an area for a fire pit and started a campfire. He went and found two logs for them to sit on, being sure to put them on opposite sides of the fire.

_I think it would be safest to avoid sitting near him for as long as I can._

About the same time that he was finishing up with camp, Kiba came back with a few fish, some various plants and herbs, and a ton of raspberries.

Naruto just ogled the raspberries and thought, _I wonder how those would taste in some pork ramen…_

Naruto took a seat on one of the logs. He thought that he probably shouldn't engage in conversation with Kiba at the moment.

Kiba, on the other hand, had different ideas of how to go about getting past this dilemma.

Rather than sitting on the log across from Naruto, he plopped down right beside Naruto so that they were only about half a foot apart and said, "What, no 'thank you', or at least 'that looks great!'?"

Naruto just stared at him. He was beginning to get scared. _What the hell?_

He eventually came to his senses and said, "Oh, thanks. Uhhh, you know there's another seat, right?"

"Oh, I guess I didn't see it there." Kiba said, unmoving. Instead he grabbed some food and started to cook his meal.

Naruto did his best to just shrug it off, grabbing a few cups of pork ramen and some raspberries. He started to cook his ramen, and was soon completely engrossed in his soon-to-be pork-raspberry ramen.

Kiba ate his food, but gave his attention to Naruto. It was really quite entertaining watching Naruto discover a brand new form of ramen. He went through so many emotions in such a small amount of time. He started with excitement, then moved on to curiosity, then skepticism, followed by surprise, and then really quickly; happiness, joy, and finally something that could only be described as ecstasy.

Kiba chortled to himself while he ate his food. Naruto; who was completely absorbed in his ramen, failed to notice that Kiba had finished eating, had given Akamaru his dinner, and was now just sitting right next to him, watching him eat his dinner.

It wasn't until Kiba actually spoke to Naruto that he looked up from his food. "Happy birthday." Kiba said with a smile.

Naruto just looked at him quizzically. He was starting to feel really awkward again.

Kiba pulled the small box out of his coat pocket and handed it to Naruto. The box was covered in wrapping paper with little puppies on it. Naruto laughed quietly to himself at this little detail. He semi-carefully unwrapped the gift. Inside the box was a surfer's necklace with a little dog on it.

"I was gonna give this to you at your party, but I was afraid that you'd lose it because of your… condition at the time." Kiba told Naruto with a smile.

"Whoa, thanks. I've been looking for something to wear when I'm not wearing Granny Tsunade's necklace. This is perfect." He smiled back at Kiba.

At that instant, when Kiba and Naruto were smiling at each other, the feeling Naruto experienced in his dream came back. He felt so happy that somebody actually gave enough thought to his birthday to do more than just show up at his party. He didn't tell Kiba, but the only other gifts he received for his birthday that year were from Iruka and Tsunade. Not even the people he considered to be his friends got him anything.

When Kiba felt that the moment had expired, he said, "Well, I'm off to bed. That trap of yours is a bitch to set up. It took a lot out of me to set that one up with the few supplies I had."

Naruto grunted at the mention of the trap and said, "G'night Kiba."

"Sweet dreams." Kiba said with a smirk.

Although Naruto did it subconsciously, Kiba noticed that Naruto actually called him by his name, rather than some insult. As he was walking over to their undersized tent, he smirked to himself and thought, _'Mission complete'_.

Once Kiba had disappeared into their tent, Naruto tried the necklace on.

_Wow, it fits really well._

He had a muscular neck, so he often had trouble finding necklaces that were just the right size for him. He always either had problems getting the necklace on, or they would hang down past his chest – neither of which was desirable, as far as Naruto was concerned.

Naruto happily cleaned the dinner dishes, and was about to set up a couple of traps when he remembered what had happened that morning.

_Maybe I'll risk skipping setting the traps tonight._

After the fire had been doused and the equipment taken care of, Naruto headed back to his tent. When he opened it, he saw that Kiba had been nice enough to leave him some space on one side.

_Thank god. I did _not _want to wake him up._

He lay down next to Kiba and tried to make himself comfortable. _Wow, this tent is even smaller than I imagined it would be with two people in it._ No matter how he tried, he could not find a comfortable position to sleep in that didn't involve body contact with Kiba. He finally settled on laying on his side facing away from Kiba, so that he at least wouldn't have to see Kiba's face right there whenever he opened his eyes. (Kiba was lying on his side, facing towards the inside of the tent.)

Naruto was having trouble sleeping. He rolled over for a moment and looked at Kiba. He realized that Kiba was the picture-perfect image of serenity when he slept. Naruto looked back at his day and began to wonder if he really felt something for Kiba. He was worried about Kiba while they were apart, had an… interesting… dream about him, ate a pleasant, quiet meal by firelight with him, received one of the nicest gifts he'd ever received from him, slept in the same tent with him, and spent so long trying to convince himself that it was just a dream, that nothing would ever happen between them, and that he wanted it that way. Didn't he?

He reached out and gntly touched his hand to Kiba's face, then quickly withdrew it.

He sure as hell didn't want Kiba waking up to find a confused Naruto petting his face.

* * *

The following morning, Naruto woke up to something much better than a few loud noises and a campfire which was far too literal for his liking. He awoke to the smell of ramen and fish. He stumbled out of his tent in a happy daze, following his nose rather than his eyes. He felt around the campfire area for a place to sit, and he found one. He plopped down on what he assumed was a place to sit in front of the fire. He opened his eyes and took a look around. He didn't see Kiba anywhere, but he was sure that he must have made the ramen that was sitting in front of him.

"Kiba?" he called out.

"Yeah?" said a voice from right behind Naruto's head. Naruto spun around to find that Kiba's head was inches away from his own.

He jumped out of his seat and yelled, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING SO close to… my…"

He then realized exactly what Kiba had been doing so close to him and his chair. It turns out that his oh-so-comfortable seat had been Kiba's lap.

"Why didn't you say anything when I sat on you!"

"I assumed that you had done it on purpose." Kiba said simply.

"MY EYES WERE CLOSED TEME!" Naruto fired.

Kiba just smiled back at him.

"Ramen?" Kiba offered.

Naruto immediately forgot his embarrassment and anger. He sat down on the ground and served himself some ramen.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmm, this is good, but where did you get ramen?" he asked.

"From your bag, duh." Kiba answered.

"YOU WENT THROUGH MY… Mah, never mind. Thanks for the ramen. Why'd you decide to make me breakfast?"

Naruto gave up on yelling at Kiba, since it obviously had no effect on him whatsoever.

"I thought maybe it would make up for making you forget your own birthday party, as well as making you talk yesterday."

Naruto wondered why Kiba was being so straightforward with him. Kiba was usually the only one who could argue about something for as long as he could.

"Oh." was Naruto's curt reply. "Don't worry about it. I doubt I missed much at my party, and yesterday was no big deal." _Right?_

"If you say so." Kiba said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"All I'm saying is that last night, you seemed less like it was 'no big deal', and more like it was something important."

Naruto, who was sure that Kiba had been asleep the night before, never even began to think that maybe Kiba had felt him caress his face. All he could do in reply was cock his head to the side slightly and plaster confusion onto his face.

Kiba just stood and said, "Well, we should get going soon. We don't want to spend all day out here in the woods."

Naruto was still pondering what Kiba had said. He let out a small, "Uh-huh." as a response.

Kiba turned and went to pack up the tent.

While he was packing, Naruto was hit with a sudden thought.

_Could he have been awake last night! There's no way. He wouldn't do that._

However, he couldn't shake off the feeling that Kiba had been talking about that little display of affection.

_I should try to find out if he was awake or not. Yeah, that's what I'll do! But it has to be done secretly._

"So Kiba, how did you sleep last night?" Naruto inquired.

"I was sleeping on a rock with another person in a tiny tent. How do you think I slept?"

This got Naruto very worried. If Kiba had to worry about sleeping in a tent with another person, this meant that he was awake when Naruto was in there.

Just to be sure, Naruto asked, "How long did it take you to fall asleep?"

"Well, since you fell asleep so quickly and I had to suffer through all your squirming and your sleep talking, it took me a couple of hours. Why are you so interested Naruto?" Kiba added the last part with a knowing smile.

This was enough to make Naruto lose all of the color in his face. By this point, they had finished packing up all the parts of their campsite, and were now ready to head home. Naruto turned and left without saying another word to Kiba.

Kiba hopped onto Akamaru and set out after Naruto. He didn't want to be stuck writing the whole report while Naruto was nowhere to be found. However, Naruto seemed to have lost him. He sighed in annoyance, then headed straight for his home. The campsite was only about four hours away from Konoha, so Kiba wasn't worried about Naruto's well being.

_Maybe I was too hard on Naruto… Then again, he does seem to bring it upon himself sometimes. Hehehe…_

* * *

When Naruto reached Konoha, he headed straight back to his apartment. As he was trying to unlock his door, he found that his hands were too shaky to put the key in the lock.

By the time he managed to get the key into the keyhole and unlock the door, his eyes were starting to well up with tears. He rushed in, slammed the door shut, and leaned his back against it.

He slowly sank down into a sitting position as he let go of all the composure that had been holding him together. At first, he didn't even know why he was sobbing like a young hormonal teenager. Then he realized that he was afraid.

He was afraid that he would lose the reputation he had worked so hard to achieve. He was afraid that when Kiba told people, which he was sure Kiba would do, that his own friends would look down on him.

He was still unsure that he even felt anything for Kiba, or any guys for that matter, yet here he was, afraid that his few important people weren't going to accept him, and it wouldn't even be Kyuubi's fault. The fear that seemed to preside over all of these other fears though, was that Kiba would despise him for his actions.

He sat at the door for what seemed like hours, and wallowed in his own fear and grief. He was so sure that nobody would accept him if word got out. He was blinded by his own fears. It never even crossed his mind that everybody may not have such a terrible reaction. He had been raised in an environment that was more hostile than any child should have to face, and now he was afraid that he would live there again.

After he had been sitting there for a few hours, there were a few knocks on his door.

He quickly tried his best to regain his self-control, and stood up. He timidly opened the door, fully expecting to meet a flock of friends who had come to question him about some dreadful rumors they had heard about him.

To his surprise, it was Kiba at the door when he finally worked up the courage to open it.

Naruto stammered, "K- Kiba?" in a voice that was even shakier than Hinata's around him.

"Oy." Kiba said.

After one look at the flushed features of Naruto's face, he proceeded to ask, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Do you want something?"

Naruto couldn't believe that Kiba was here, in front of him.

_Doesn't he care that I had a dream about us kissing, and I was petting his face last night?_

"Well, I just came by to remind you that we need to go to Tsunade's office and give our report, since it was a mission dealing with a Kage.

"Yeah, I know. I'll be ready in a second, hold on."

This was a lie. The last thing on Naruto's mind had been a mission report. He quickly changed out of his special-jounin clothes and into his usual orange set of clothes.

He reopened the front door to find that Kiba was still standing there, waiting patiently with his hands in his pockets.

"Ready yet?" he asked with a teasing tone to his voice.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go." With that, the two set out, once again, for the Hokage's office. This time however, things seemed much less tense.

Naruto was still in shock. He couldn't believe that not only had Kiba kept to himself about the whole tent dilemma, but he didn't even make fun of Naruto for it.

_Maybe he has something planned for this, or he's waiting for the right moment to tell everybody. There is no way that he's just gonna let me off the hook for this one. If only there was some way to get inside his head! I need to know what he's thinking about all of this!_

Naruto glanced at Kiba's face, looking for some sign of emotion. However, Kiba had trained himself not to show anything unless he wanted it to be shown. Naruto persisted and tried looking for something in his face to tell him what Kiba had in store.

"Why are you staring at me like that? You thinkin' about playing with my face some more?" Kiba finally asked with a small laugh.

Naruto's jaw dropped. He did _not_ expect Kiba to just come out and say something about it like it was no big deal.

"Uhhhhhh, Wuh?" Naruto mumbled.

Kiba just snorted at this and picked up his pace. _I swear. Sometimes Naruto can act so immature. It's like he's never been attracted to anybody before._

Kiba smiled at the dawn of a new thought;

_Maybe he hasn't been attracted to a _guy_ before. This should be interesting_.

_Uh oh, Why's Kiba smiling like that? I knew it! He has something planned! _

Luckily for Naruto, the pair of them arrived at the Hokage's office before Kiba could try that 'something he had planned'.

Genma and Raidou, who had guard duty for Tsunade's office that day, were nowhere to be seen.

_I wonder where those two always go together… Oh well._

Naruto knocked on Tsunade's door, and a voice from within called, "Come in!"

Naruto and Kiba carried on into the Hokage's office.

"The mission was a success. We were able to deliver the document directly to the Mizukage without any complications. Here is a full written report on the mission."

Kiba then handed the Hokage a scroll. Rather than looking the scroll over, she tossed it aside and dismissed both of them.

Once they were out of the office, Naruto immediately said, "I gotta go."

He then teleported out of the building.

Kiba stood there for a moment and said softly, "Tomorrow is going to be an unusual day for a certain fox-boy."

Then he too teleported out of the buildings.

* * *

Hooray! My longest chapter yet! I hope it meets your standards people :D I promise… yaoi is on the way! With a set up like this, I don't know any way that I could possibly put off some sort of romance any longer… I'll try to update faster next time. Buh bye!

Oh yeah, please review! My reviewers have been so helpful so far! I was having a bit of a writer's block, then one of my reviewers said something about how Kiba seemed to be taking this unusually well, which got me going again. Now, buh bye for real!


	4. Practice Makes Something

YOSHHHHHH! FINALLY DONE WITH CHAPTER FOUR! Only took me a year. Sorry about that everyone! School was rough and I went through some stuff, but now I'm back! Excuses aside, I am incredibly delighted to give you the fourth chapter of Where to Look.

I am sad to say that my usual Beta is going through a tough spot in his life, so he is taking a break. Wish him the best! On a happier note, the INCREDIBLE writer Kanemoshi has oh-so-very graciously agreed to help me out with this story! If by some horribly tragic sequence of events any of you have managed to miss her inconceivably wonderful fics, you have GOT to go read them! They are allll amazing! Thanks so much Kane-chan ^^

Kanemoshi: *blushes* I don't know about _incredible_…but as for the beta-ing, no problem! I'm honored to finally be able to help my newest beta! And this chapter is absolutely adorable!

If you found this story via e-mail/story alert, I strongly advise that you go back and reread the first few chapters… Not only has it been a year since I first published them, but I changed some things here and there. You may not be able to remember everything that happened… I know I wasn't. That's up to you though. ;) Enjoy!

All rights are given to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Chapter 4 - Practice makes… Something.

_In the corner of a dusty Konoha alley, Naruto finds himself overwhelmed by the familiar feelings of terror and loneliness. In front of him, a mass of people are slowly advancing. As they reach striking distance, he pulls his head to his chest and assumes the fetal position, waiting for the torment to begin._

_After a few moments of fearful anticipation, Naruto realizes that the throng of civilians is not attacking him. He looks up and notices a few familiar faces in the crowd. Slowly, each person in the crowd morphs into one of Naruto's important people. A beat of hope flickers through him, only to be extinguished as each face begins to look down at him with scorn, disappointment, and repulsion. _

_A single figure pushes to the forefront of the mob: Kiba. To Naruto's dismay, Kiba looks the same as all the others. Kiba approaches the crouching blonde boy, who in turn presses his back into the rough wall behind him. Once again, a feeling of hopelessness and loneliness washes over Naruto as he shuts his eyes and attempts to escape to a deep recess of his mind. _

_His eyes are forced open by some unknown energy, and he is soon unwillingly staring into the eyes of the brown haired boy. The coldness Naruto expects to see has vanished, replaced with affection, sympathy, and something Naruto can't quite label._

_Kiba reaches out to Naruto, eliciting a wince. Before Naruto can react, Kiba pulls Naruto's head into his chest. Naruto is immediately whisked away from this scornful world and this hellish alley, and appears in an expansive field. This mystical meadow is faultless, punctured only by rolling hills and quiet streams. _

_Naruto doesn't notice this strikingly surreal milieu. His attention is drawn to a sensation he has never experienced before. He is being held by Kiba, cared for by somebody just because that somebody thinks he is worthy of his care. The two crouched there together, unmoving. _

_After sitting together for a few long moments, Naruto backs up just enough to peer into Kiba's eyes. He feels more unfamiliar emotions as he finds Kiba returning his loving stare._

* * *

Naruto sprung up and hurled a kunai at his alarm clock, silencing the infernal beeping

_Damn it! It happened again. Only this time, it felt… different. _He reached a hand up to his head and laced his fingers through his hair, gripping it softly, completely bewildered by his situation. He had no idea how to react to a dream like that. Part of him wanted to be upset with himself and with Kiba, since this was all so foreign to him. A larger part of him did not want to lose this uncertain shortness of breath; it wasn't an unpleasant feeling by a long shot, but more of an amorous ecstasy.

He shook himself like a wet animal, and dragged his half-naked body to his small kitchen. He grabbed a cup of microwavable ramen from his refrigerator, and popped it into his microwave.

_Too bad I only had this beef ramen left. Pork ramen is my favorite. The salty pork goes way better with the noodles and mushrooms than that bland beef. I wonder what kind of ramen Kiba likes most…_

DING! The microwave's sharp ring cut through his haze of thoughts, reminding him of the delicious noodles, ready and waiting not three steps away. He retrieved his less-than-optimal beef ramen, and sat down at his small table. As usual, he picked up a jug of milk which was permanently sitting on his table, shook it, grimaced, and set it back in its place. He then continued to devour his meal, forgetting briefly about Kiba and his dreams.

He decided that he needed a nice hot shower, even though he had showered the night before. The last few days had been particularly stressful. The blonde clumsily made his way to his shower and fumbled around with the handle until he felt hot water. Strangely, he didn't feel the freedom he had expected. As he soon realized, this was because his boxers were still on, and they had gotten heavy with the water they had soaked in. He slid out of his boxers, and fell back slightly against the shower wall, hitting it with a small thud.

Free of all entanglements and distractions, Naruto tried to clearly mull over what was happening to him. His fears, however, screamed much more loudly than his rational thoughts. He was afraid to think that he really may have fallen this hard for Kiba and that the people he cared about would frown upon it. Also, he didn't know what to do now since he didn't know what Kiba thought about all of this. It seemed to Naruto that Kiba was indifferent toward the whole situation.

After thinking about his life for a while (and making no progress at all), Naruto headed out for a morning run to calm himself down. He slipped on his usual orange and black suit and leapt into the streets of Konoha.

He started out jogging through some of the less busy roads and walkways in the area, aiming for a clear head and a little exercise. Kiba kept making his way into the forefront of Naruto's thoughts. Every time he started thinking of Kiba, he sped up a little in order to push the thoughts away. He gradually dashed faster and faster until he felt unsafe running around the streets. At that point, he took to the roofs. He was frantically leaping from one roof to the next. The wind soaring past his face gave him a weightless sort of feeling, but it wasn't enough; he was still thinking about Kiba. The orange blur was pushing himself to his limit, his vision beginning to blur due to his speed. Approaching the cities outer boundaries, he dipped down into what appeared to be an empty street.

A huge crash sounded as Naruto flew into somebody. The two rolled backwards and collided with a tree trunk, where they laid for a moment or two.

Naruto laboriously sat up. He touched the top of his head to feel the lump growing there, and winced as his fingers brushed past it. He was trying to remember if he had packed any bandages into his suit this morning, when he was interrupted by a slightly agitated voice coming from beneath him.

"Get off of my face Naruto. Why do you like sitting on me so much?" Naruto leapt away from the tree at the sound of Kiba's voice. He turned around and saw Kiba grinning at him. "What's wrong? You seemed comfortable. You don't have to look so angry," Kiba said with a mischievous smirk. When Naruto didn't respond, Kiba replaced his smirk with a more composed stature.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, attempting a poker face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. A little fall won't hurt me." Kiba laughed a little as he stood up and clutched his back, miming pain.

"All right, see you then," Naruto said. He didn't want to be around Kiba; he was afraid that he might do something he would regret if he stayed. He turned around to leave, but a familiar obstruction blockaded his exit.

"Wait up Naruto! Want to go train with me and Shino?" Kiba inquired. Naruto looked around and noticed that Shino had been standing there for the entire time.

_Damn that guy is creepy… He's too quiet._

Before Naruto could respond, Shino said, "You know I have to go and see Tsunade about my most recent mission soon, Kiba."

"Oh, yeah, well then how about then you and I go train Naruto!" Kiba gave Naruto an innocent smile, firing warning signals throughout his head.

Deafened by Kiba's cute, alluring face, Naruto soon found himself agreeing. "Alright, sure," he muttered, attempting to copy his sensei's aloof attitude, despite the intensity of his racing heart.

"I have a nice place picked out." Kiba said, keeping that smile on his face. He started walking down the road at a fairly brisk pace. He turned and yelled, "You coming or what, baka?

"Yeah," said Naruto, tearing his eyes away from Kiba's entrancing rear end. He caught up with Kiba, and the two continued to their mysterious training ground.

Shino stood there alone in an alley, forgotten. _Why doesn't anybody ever remember to say goodbye to me…_

* * *

The pair trekked through the woods, passing a few streams, in total silence. Kiba stopped abruptly, approaching small paw print engraved on a tree. He bit his thumb and smeared blood on the insignia, releasing the genjutsu that had been protecting the location. "My family's special training ground is just up ahead. You should feel lucky Naruto. We don't let just anybody see it."

Naruto withdrew a little in surprise. _What does he mean by that? Am I some sort of special person to Kiba?_

Kiba saw the curiosity and surprise on Naruto's face and smiled to himself. _Good. If he thought that comment was strange, he is probably looking for hints about what I am thinking, and that means that he probably does have feelings for me. This could go better than I expected._

"I bet it reeks of dog." Naruto said with a nervous laugh.

_At least Naruto's starting to feel more relaxed. Too bad he always finds things to complain about when he gets comfortable..._ Kiba smirked a little at his own silent joke.

"But seriously, if this training ground is covered in dog…" Naruto stopped mid -sentence as the trees started to clear, and he could see the Inuzuka training ground opening up in front of him. He instantly thought that this clearing was the Elysium from his dreams. It had many small hills and streams, with very few trees for cover. Upon closer inspection, the field proved to be slightly different. He couldn't believe that the dense forest they had been walking through had melted seamlessly into this beautiful meadow.

The air seemed to change as Naruto stepped into the field; he could feel serenity seeping out of the landscape. He stood at the entrance for a few seconds with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Kiba, who had been watching him for most of the walk, took note of Naruto's awe. _Naruto's a sucker for scenery, eh? I'll have to keep that in mind._ Kiba let out a soft, somewhat sinister chuckle, making Naruto a little bit nervous. Kiba caught himself and shot Naruto one of his innocent smiles, which only made Naruto feel even more uneasy.

Sensing Naruto's apprehension, Kiba decided it was time to take action. Without saying a word, he instantaneously created a gap between himself and Naruto. Naruto reacted immediately by assuming a defensive posture.

_Come to think of it, I haven't seen Kiba fight for a while, if you don't count that camping incident. I don't really have any idea what techniques he uses._

As if Kiba had read Naruto's mind, he said, "Maybe we should stick to practicing our taijutsu for today. Akamaru has been feeling funny ever since he ate your ramen the other day, and I don't know how happy the rest of my clan would be if an outsider destroyed our training grounds." While talking, he took his large jacket and his mesh undershirt off, exposing his bare torso.

"That's fine. Ready?" Naruto replied, his gaze not leaving the once hidden flesh. Rather than responding, Kiba smiled, formed a seal, and disappeared.

Naruto looked around for a moment, surprised. There were few shinobi who he couldn't follow with his eye. Before long, he felt an unnatural breeze coming from his left. He turned and blocked just in time as Kiba's fist came crashing into Naruto's armguards. Naruto leapt backwards and, as soon as his feet hit the ground, dashed to the side. He ran atop a shallow stream, not letting Kiba escape his vision again. Kiba was running along the stream's bank, keeping his eyes fixed on Naruto's. For a moment, Naruto's eyes looked directly into Kiba's. He was instantly mesmerized.

_Kiba's eyes are look so immersed in the fight, yet they still don't look like they want to hurt me. They're too pure…_

All Kiba thought at this point was _not yet. _He noticed Naruto's temporary lack of concentration and charged straight into Naruto. Naruto barely managed to block the attack, and had even greater trouble with the quick series of blows which followed. Naruto caught one of Kiba's hands, and threw the dog-boy over his shoulder. Kiba rebounded off the ground and landed on his feet.

"Finally, you're coming after me. I was getting tired of doing all the chasing." Kiba said with a mischievous smirk. This comment left Naruto slightly puzzled. Rather than letting Naruto think too hard about possible dual meanings in his statement, Kiba started to run in a large semicircle around Naruto.

_How did Kiba get this built? His shoulders are huge, and he has a damn eight pack… I bet his legs are pretty buff too…_

Naruto realized that he was ogling Kiba's body, and mentally slapped himself in the face. _What the hell? There is __**no**__ way I'm this desperate!_ With that thought, Naruto threw himself at Kiba and started attacking relentlessly.

_What the hell got into Naruto? Everything was going like I hoped, and now he's suddenly furious with me again! He is SO unpredictable._

Kiba flung himself away from the flailing blur that was Naruto as quickly as he could. _I guess it's time now. I hope he doesn't get too angry about this. _

Naruto finally realized that he was punching and kicking at nothing but air, and hurled his eyes in all directions, franticly searching for his prey.

He found Kiba, but was one again instantly transfixed with Kiba's eyes, though they were different this time. They were no longer a deep brown, but instead had turned to an electric blue, similar to those of a husky. Everything blurred for a single moment, but Naruto neither noticed nor cared.

Before Naruto knew what was happening, Kiba charged straight for him. Naruto tried to move, but couldn't do more than open his arms a little. _What the hell… Why can't I move?_ Unable to budge, Naruto just prepared himself for the hit he knew was coming. Instead of punching Naruto, Kiba stopped right in front of him. The canine-like boy just smiled his innocent smile, and roughly tugged Naruto's shirt off. Kiba wasted no time and immediately moved his hands to Naruto's waste band. Naruto regained a little bit of control in his body, and tried moving his hands to stop Kiba, but they lingered when they brushed against Kiba's sides. His hands froze there, the physical contact driving him crazy. Meanwhile, Kiba was struggling to get Naruto's pants the rest of the way off. He grew impatient and used a kunai to finish the job, tossing the torn fabric aside.

Naruto stood there in nothing but his froggie boxers and his necklace, while Kiba looked at him and waited. Naruto wasn't sure if he had enough blood to be pitching a tent with all his scarlet features, but he found a way. He just looked at Kiba, astonished. He knew Kiba was pretty impulsive, but never thought he would go this far so quickly.

It was then that Naruto realized he once again had full use of his arms. He stood there for another moment, as he tried to decide what to do. Instinctively, he wanted to run. Other, much stronger instincts drove him to move his hands to the top of Kiba's pants.

Just then, everything seemed to blur once again. In that moment, his half naked Kiba disappeared, and he was fully clothed once again. Incredibly confused and still very aroused, Naruto looked around for Kiba. He located Kiba about twenty feet away, back where he had been when Naruto looked into his eyes.

"What the hell just happened?" Naruto murmured, mostly to himself.

"Sorry Naruto, I broke the rules. I sort of used a genjutsu on you. Before you get mad…"

"YOU WHAT? What the HELL do you mean _before I get mad!_? TOO LATE, DAMNIT!"

"Please, listen! I really needed to test this jutsu out. It's a part of the Inuzuka bloodline which has finally awoken in me. It's a jutsu that plays out the victims most primitive, instinctual desires in his mind. It can be useful, but has its frailties. As you probably noticed, the victim's senses flicker away for a moment right before the jutsu takes effect, making the technique extremely noticeable, and easily countered. It can be stopped through a simple release. I needed to know its effectiveness on an unsuspecting enemy!" Kiba lied. While the bit about his jutsu was true, his motives and desires were completely different, and judging by the look on Naruto's face and his groin, they were completely successful.

"W-was it your eyes then? Is that how you caught me in your genjutsu?" Naruto stammered, still troubled by the feral act he had just semi-willingly partaken in.

"My eyes? No… Some members of the Inuzuka clan are able to emit a unique pheromone that distorts an enemy's senses."

"But your eyes turned that blue color just before it activated."

"What?" Kiba asked. His eyes widened and his smile fell instantly. He suddenly looked sincerely afraid of something. _There's no way… He must have already been under my genjutsu when he thought he saw my eyes turn blue. Maybe he just likes guys with blue eyes more. It's not like I actually… No way. It was definitely the genjutsu._

Kiba shook himself off and said, "We both obviously need a break. I'm going to go get us some lunch, okay?"

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea." Naruto replied. He didn't feel tired at all, but he felt a number of other things which were good reasons to stop training.

Without another word, Kiba dashed into the forest.

Now alone, Naruto sprawled out in the grass, his eyes turned up at the sky. He stared not at the clouds, but into nothingness, completely bewildered by what just happened to him, and what he seemed to be ready to do. He couldn't believe that he had actually reached for Kiba's pants in his illusion.

* * *

_Do I really want Kiba that badly? It's just some strange sort of physical attraction, right? It's not like I would ever want to date him... _Thoughts were swarming through Naruto's head too quickly for him to comprehend. _But this isn't even the first time I've thought about Kiba like this. Well, it's the first time consciously, I guess. Is __**that**__ really the thing I want most in the world? If that's true, there's no way it could just be physical attraction… But still, there's no way I could feel this much for Kiba!_

Naruto continued to battle with himself, and eventually decided to accept his potential love for Kiba as a hypothetical. _Alright, well if I really do like him, I wonder how he feels about me. He's been really understanding of what I've said and done to him recently. He didn't even freak out while I was petting his face! And he must have noticed that I was pretty aroused when he released me from his jutsu. And then there were those weird hints he gave me today… First, he asked Shino to train even though he apparently knew Shino was busy. And he made that comment! He said he was getting tired of being the one who did all the chasing or something… What the hell does that mean?_

Getting increasingly flustered, Naruto sat up and started unearthing small clumps of grass. _Damn, I am so stupid. I'm probably just inventing all these advances Kiba seems to be making… But wouldn't that mean I am looking for them? And doesn't that mean I really do feel strongly for him? I still don't have any idea what my feelings for him really are. This is supposed to be a hypothetical situation, damn it!_

Naruto slammed his fist into the ground. He did _not_ like the direction this thought process seemed to be heading: towards him falling in love with Kiba.

_Screw this; I'm obviously not thinking straight right now. I'm gonna take a nap._ He laid back into the soft grass and tried to clear his mind.

* * *

Kiba sauntered into the meadow holding a hot bag filled with Naruto's and his lunches. He scouted the area for Naruto and found him lying on a hill. He approached Naruto and called out, "Oy Naruto. I have lunch." When Naruto didn't stir, Kiba came closer to him. He gave his usual smirk and moved towards the now sleeping Naruto.

Kiba laid down on Naruto's right, and turned his head so that his mouth was right by Naruto's ear. He whispered seductively, "Naruto."

To Kiba's surprise, Naruto moaned gently in reply, "Kiba," followed by some incoherent mumbling. Kiba stared at him in shock for a moment, and then chuckled as Naruto's face turned to a light pink.

_I probably shouldn't let this go too long. I don't want Naruto to be all frazzled when he wakes up again_. Yelling was useless; Naruto didn't even notice, so he tried a more physical approach. He reached over and grabbed both of Naruto's shoulders, and shook him slightly.

Naruto's eyes drifted open, and Kiba's amused face came slowly into focus. Naruto's blood started to rush to a couple of places again.

_DAMN IT! Another dream? Am I still dreaming? I must be… Kiba is never this quiet._ With that incorrect assumption, Naruto reached for Kiba's face, but stilled his hand, noticing Kiba's surprise. _Oh shit... Kiba is never surprised in my dreams! This must be real…_

Naruto flew backwards, crawling like a crab on speed, his face redder than ever. "Why the hell would you wake me up, and then stick your head in my face!" Naruto yelled, trying to cover for his mistake. _I can't believe I almost pulled Kiba's head towards me while I was fully conscious… What the hell is happening? I have to get out of here _right_ now._

Before Naruto could move, Kiba looked up at him and said, "You didn't wake up when I yelled, so I had to shake you awake." He threw Naruto his innocent smile.

Naruto didn't reply. He quietly rose to his feet. "I have to go."

As Naruto was turning around to leave, Kiba said, "I have _raaameeennnnnn_," singing the last word.

Naruto stopped in his tracks and silently cursed Kiba and the inescapable food of the gods. _Kuso… _"What kind of ramen?" he asked.

"Miso pork with extra pork. My treat." Kiba replied with a grin. He had done his research.

_KUSO!_ "I guess I can stay for a little longer." Naruto sulked over to Kiba and his delicious holy noodles. Kiba reached into the bag and pulled out a fresh bowl of Ichiraku ramen. Naruto's eyes bulged, and he shrieked excitedly, "It's from Ichiraku? I love you!" _But I wonder how he managed to carry that in a take-out bag and still keep it looking perfect. He never spilled a drop…_

Kiba laughed at Naruto's animation. _Wow, this is working even better than I thought._ He handed Naruto his ramen and a pair of chopsticks, and Naruto dug in immediately. Kiba watched in amazement for a brief moment before starting on his own ramen.

With a full mouth of ramen, Naruto asked, "Ish there anyfing to drink?" He finished his question with a forced gulp as he swallowed the massive amount of ramen he had stuffed into his mouth.

Kiba looked up and said, "The water in the streams around here is really fresh if you get…" He stopped mid-sentence and started laughing as he noticed a large noodle clinging to Naruto's cheek.

"What's so funny?" Naruto asked, starting to get a little concerned. Kiba didn't reply. Instead, he looked Naruto in the eyes and started to slowly lean towards him. As Kiba's face grew nearer, Naruto's became redder. Since the two were sitting side-by-side and the noodle was on the cheek opposite Kiba, he had to lean across Naruto to get near the noodle. Naruto backed away slightly as Kiba inched closer and closer to him. His face was so close that he could feel the heat from Naruto's blush.

When Kiba's face was only a couple inches away from Naruto's, he produced a napkin from his back pocket, wiping the noodle from Naruto's cheek. Finished, he returned to his own noodles.

Naruto stared at Kiba, lost for words. _That bastard… Tricking me like that. I'm going to kill him when we start training again._ As hard as he was trying, Naruto was unable to rid his face of its cherry-like appearance. Turning back to his food, he continued eating, though his original fervor had diminished.

Once the redness settled, Kiba looked up at Naruto and said, "The silence and seclusion out here really is relaxing, ne?" While he said this in the friendliest tone possible, it made Naruto's face flare again. The touch of romanticism implied by the statement was enough to set Naruto off at this point.

Naruto, who had just finished the food, was ignoring Kiba. He said, standing, "We should get back to training now. I don't want to waste too much of the day." Kiba smiled and looked up. Without saying a word, he leapt about ten feet away from Naruto (how he did this from a sitting position even baffled Naruto), and slid into a fighting stance.

"Should we continue our taijutsu training then?" Kiba asked.

"That depends. Are you going to cheat if we try taijutsu again?"

Kiba sniffled dramatically and put a hand to his heart. "I'm hurt! You know I only used that genjutsu on you for research! How could you think I would do something like that again?"

Naruto just scowled and, without warning, disappeared in a flash. _During the first half of our training, I barely even attacked Kiba. There's no way I'm letting him think that I'm still as weak as when we sparred as kids._

Naruto started to attack Kiba relentlessly. Kiba was forced to just stand there and try to block each of Naruto's blows. Naruto didn't even allow blocking his attacks to be easy for Kiba, attacking from a different angle with each hit. Kiba's eyes widened in surprise. _I had no idea Naruto was this strong. I've trained so hard since I lost to him in that chuunin exam, but my eyes are still having trouble keeping up with him. What the hell is giving him all this power?_

Kiba would try to jump away from Naruto, but Naruto would beat him wherever he went. It was as if Naruto knew what Kiba was going to do before Kiba had even planned to do it. Suddenly, Naruto appeared a few feet in front of Kiba and lunged at him. As luck would have it, the unstoppable force tripped on a small rock jutting out of the ground and crashed into Kiba. The two fell with as little grace as possible, and as an end result, Naruto was straddling Kiba.

This time, Naruto was not the only one whose blood was going crazy; Kiba's tattoos seemed to spread across his face as a blush consumed his normally light skin.

_This is really bad! I can't fight Kiba if I have thoughts like this whenever I touch him. How the hell did I even end up on top of him? He must be really freaked out right now. Wait… Is he blushing too? _

Naruto looked incredibly innocent and puzzled. _Damn it, Naruto is way too cute when he's confused. I don't know if I can stand this much longer. Then again, I will probably scare Naruto away for good if I try anything… Kuso!_

Naruto was really starting to feel anxious. _I have to do something, but what? Should I get off, or should I… What's my other choice?_ Just as that thought crossed through Naruto's mind, Kiba's arousal brushed against his own. Both of the boys' eyes widened. Two sets of blue eyes stared into one another's icy depths.

_Screw it. _Unable to hold his emotions back any longer, Naruto made the first move. He leaned down and crushed his lips into Kiba's. He grabbed a fistful of grass in each hand and pulled himself into Kiba in order to intensify the kiss even further. Kiba tightly wrapped his arms around Naruto's upper back and lifted his chest, fitting perfectly into the curvature made by Naruto's arched back. Kiba's chest rubbed up against Naruto's, separated by a single piece of cloth. Two tongues intertwined, relishing in their first dance with a new friend.

Naruto made sure to engrave the feeling of Kiba's mouth into his mind permanently; the elation Kiba's touches caused him was unique from anything Naruto had ever experienced.

Kiba was wildly enjoying the taste of Naruto's mouth. It tasted heavily of ramen, but also had a heavenly exceptionality: a taste that could only be described as Naruto's. The two pressed their bodies into one another, Naruto's necklace pushing hard into Kiba's chest, nearly leaving an imprint.

Naruto jerked his head away suddenly. He looked at Kiba, his eyes no longer lost in bliss. Instead, he looked frightened. Naruto quickly pulled away, formed a few quick seals and was gone.

* * *

Naruto appeared in front of his apartment. He opened the door, took a step in, and collapsed against the wall. Sliding down into a sitting position, he remained expressionless. He just lost control of himself with the _real_ Kiba, not with some dream Kiba or illusionary Kiba. He felt ashamed and terrified. On the bright side, the kiss was infinitely more fulfilling than any of his dreams had ever been. Though Naruto hadn't realized it yet, there was something more than passion and acceptance in that kiss with Kiba. Emotionally drained, he stared at the wall in front of him.

Naruto's confusion about the situation quickly turned to frustration. _Why the hell do I feel like this? Only a few days ago, I didn't feel anything at all for him! I seriously doubt that he felt anything for me back then either. Hell, I don't even know how he feels now! What if he was just going along with the kiss because he was horny? What if he wasn't really going along with it? Could I have imagined his reactions? Oh god, if he doesn't like me at all and I really just attacked him like that, he's going to think I'm completely insane!_

Naruto looked up as he heard a small _poof_ come from his doorway. He saw Kiba looking down at him. Kiba's face was filled with concern and confusion. This confusion caused him to furrow his brow slightly. Naruto, who was scanning Kiba's face for any clues about his thoughts, saw his furrowed brow as irritation rather than concern.

_Shit, shit, shit. What the fuck did I just do? He won't even want to be friends anymore!_ Tears were flowing down Naruto's face, dripping off of his chin and into his lap. He looked so pitiful.

Kiba felt horrible, but didn't know what to do. He opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Naruto saying, "Please… Just get out." Naruto's voice was incredibly shaky and weak. He really didn't want to leave, but he didn't want to make things any worse.

Kiba grudgingly complied, turning around and exiting the apartment.

Naruto hung his head and prepared for a long, mind-numbingly thought-ridden night.

* * *

Kiba trudged along random streets with no real purpose. The skies darkened as a wave of rain clouds hid the evening sun. Small droplets began to land on Kiba's head, eliciting a scowl. _Perfect! Rain is just what I needed._

He decided it would be best to set course for his home. Because he had used up the last of his energy to transport to Naruto's house, he had to walk there. As he walked, he tried to figure out what he should do now.

_God damn it, there has got to be something I can do. But maybe it would be best if I waited until tomorrow… Naruto really doesn't seem to be in a talking-it-out sort of mood at the moment. _

He continued to try devising some sort of plan for a long time. As he approached his own home, his thoughts changed a little; _Naruto aside, what the hell am I going to do about myself? Here I kept thinking that I would maybe be able to get back at Naruto for petting my face, and I ended up losing control. That kiss was _not_ anything I had planned. Do I really feel something for Naruto? I find it really hard to believe that that's the case. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time I liked a guy. _He mulled over the idea of him liking Naruto, and met an unexpectedly minimal amount of disgust. _And then there was that kiss… What the hell was that about? That kiss was way different from anything I have ever experienced before. It isn't that Naruto's a better kisser than Shino or Shikamaru, but that it seemed less… forced. It really felt more like I couldn't stop myself._

Suddenly, fear overwhelmed him. His breath became tight as he thought about Naruto and that kiss. He leapt the rest of the way to his front door, swung it open, dove in, and slammed it shut, all in a single movement. He too sank to the floor, his eyes darting around the room, as if a cure for his anxiety was hidden within the walls' confines.

Naruto hadn't moved from his spot near the corner of his room. He sat, choking back small sobs as he tried to piece together the events of the last two days, but making no progress. He felt as if he were trying to look back into his memories through broken, fogged up pieces of glass. He couldn't tell what his true emotions apart from what he wanted to feel and what he thought others would want him to feel.

In the midst of his confused daze, he whimpered, "Of all people, why Kiba?"

* * *

Heh, sorry about the saddening cliffhanger everybody. Forgive me for all the teasing I put you through this chapter! There will indeed eventually be some real lovin', but as I have said before… I want this story to be believable! Love doesn't usually spring up from an impulsive act of full-out sex you know ;)

Thanks for reading! Feel free to review :D Everybody loves compliments and criticisms.


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